BRUSSELS / AP NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg is urging the allies to step up defense spending on the eve of a first meeting between new US Defense Secretary Jim Mattis and his 27 counterparts in Brussels. Stoltenberg said on Tuesday that “fair burden-sharing and increased defense spending underpins the trans-Atlantic alliance.” US President Donald Trump hinted during the …

  MIHAIL KOGALNICEANU / AP Five hundred US troops began to arrive in a Romanian Black Sea port with tanks and hardware to bolster defense in this East European NATO nation. The US embassy said the “Fighting Eagles,” 1st Battalion, 8th Infantry Regiment, will be stationed in the Mihail Kogalniceanu air base in eastern Romania, on a rotational basis. US …

  Bloomberg President Donald Trump’s attempt to close America’s borders to citizens of seven mostly Muslim countries suffered another blow as judges on both coasts issued rulings that will make it even harder for the administration to rescue the beleaguered plan. Together, the rulings mean that the administration may now have to start answering questions from state officials about whether …